Nebraska vs Illinois game thread
- Thread starter Rhule Szn
- Start date
The wife and I looked at each other and said, "it's early." And... it was. But hey, its a start!
Time for Verge to go to the bench. By the bench I mean zero minutes per game. Dude is a net negative and it’s obvious at this point
Guy is by far the most frustrating player to watch....offensively, defensively....I think this is his only year, so light at the end of the tunnel.
Pray that Walker stays healthy because he is the only decent low post for the Huskers.
....and he has his work cut out for him against Pudue with Trevion Williams and Edey the 7ft4 jolly green giant. That's a match-up nightmare.
Something tells me that when Fred was winning at ISU, the B12 refs were calling things a little closer in the paint than what they do in the B1G. IF we could shoot it like some of Illinois's guards can, we might have a chance but man.
I kept thinking thinking that we should put in a bench player who would just tackle him every time he caught the ball. Made no sense to not foul him once he caught it deep. There's just no way you can keep a guy that big out of the paint if the refs are going to let him move people the way he can. Looks like Shaq at LSU.
Verge had 2 terrible turnovers and a wild terrible shot on a drive that keyed a 7-0 Illinois run and that was about the end of it. He had some nice drives and assists but then he loses his mind and plays too loose. Illinois started raining 3s in the last 3 minutes is why it ended the way it did.
Dingle we have to stop this nonsense about Verge. Husker fans really have it out for him it seems. The guy is our best player. He is trying damn hard out there. Active hands on defense, and he is doing his best to distribute the ball and break some old habits. I think I heard he was 1st or 2nd in the B1G in assists so that says something about the narrative surrounding him.
I don't think it's him playing too loose. He is just reverting to what he knows when nothing is there and guys aren't making decisive cuts. The broadcast team alluded to this tonight that our guys just do not make hard enough cuts in our sets.
The real issue continues to be our rebounding and defense. Effort seems to be there on some possessions and then on others some guys just seem real lazy or almost as bad they overhelp and we get lit up from 3. Really it's just recruiting and team composition trickling into our defensive philosophy (which is mind-blowing when you consider our offensive philosophy...). We are giving up close to 50% from 3 in B1G play which is absurd. Overanalyzing Verge's offensive game is meaningless when you see that.
Well if Verge is our best player, then that's why we suck. He's a turnover waiting to happen at the worst moments. The if the turnovers weren't enough he throws up wild shots that start a fast break the other way. He's not great on the defensive end either. I generally defend guys but damn it unforced turnovers are just killers and he had 2 extremely bad ones that put us in the hole late.
Most of the time that there's nothing there, it's because people are standing around watching him free lance. He's not the only reason we're losing but when he plays out of control he sure as hell isn't helping.
I should also add Illinois's PG guarded Verge about as well as anyone I have seen tonight....and Verge still had 14 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. He had some bad TOs no doubt, but he produced against the best defense I have seen against him with 2 big men patrolling the paint to boot. We are not losing because of Verge.
I'm just confused why there is so much Verge hate when 5* McGowens puts up just as many horrible shots and seems very lackadaisical on defense most of the time. I mean at this point McGowens should be given the Delano Banton treatment from last season: do not shoot the ball outside of 10 feet from the rim unless absolutely necessary. For the love of god stop shooting long 3's as well. He is shooting 24% from 3 on the season. 39% FG. Drive to the rim and drive to the rim only. That is what it seems he is doing a better job of as the seasons progresses. It's a strange thing because he is shooting around 83% from the free throw line.
Look at his shooting percentage and the ask the question again as to why he plays. I agree that he does get burned on defense sometimes. IMO, he looks like a kid who is still learning how to handle his length and his feet aren't particularly quick to try to guard guards. He also isn't playing the point as far as the turnover go. I still don't see him turn the ball over like Verge does.
I'm not really hating on Verge but damn the guy has to stay in control and facilitate.